A pleasant one-hour train ride from Larissa Station in Athens
takes you to Halkidha (Chalkida), the island’s capital city with a population of 50,000, stopping in the old station
under the old Turkish fortress, on the mainland side of the 120ft (40 meter) channel which is all that separates this long
island from the mainland at this point. From there you can walk over the old bridge into town, which handles both pedestrian
and foot traffic.

The currents in the Evripous Channel below the bridge are known to change direction seven times daily, a
bewildering phenomenon yet unexplained.

There is also a newer suspension bridge connecting the mainland with Evia that
bypasses Halkida, and there are seven ferry crossings at various points.

This long island runs northwest to southeast, with
its northern tip just south of the Pelio peninsula and its southern tip just north of Andros island (the northernmost of the
Cyclades). There are points in the southernmost portion where the island is only about ten miles across.